Christians Struggle With Urge to Play the Lottery as Studies Show It Harms the Poor

REUTERS/Andrew KellyA ticket is seen ahead of the Mega Millions lottery draw which reached a jackpot of 5 Million in Manhattan, New York, U.S., July 1, 2016.

As the Mega Millions jackpot on Tuesday and Wednesday’s Powerball haul soared to a combined $2.22 billion over the weekend, Christians remained deeply divided over whether they should participate in the gamble even as studies show lotteries disproportionately attract those who can least afford it.

“Lord, please help the saints to resist the devil and not play the lottery! Lord that’s a lot of money lol. ‘Loose Here!'” Pastor DeMarlon J. Nixon of Freedom Temple Pentecostal Church in Texas quipped in a tweet on Sunday.

Pastor Chad Brown of Chad Brown Ministries says he believes Christians should go ahead and purchase a lottery ticket if that’s what they desire because many churches participate in games of chance outside of lotteries.

“Should believers buy a mega millions ticket ($2)? My answer is YES!! If that’s what they want to do,” Brown said in a Facebook post on Friday.

“You can’t be against the lottery, but your youth department is doing a RAFFLE! Same thing pastor. SAME THING! You can’t be against the lottery and you have a prize of $500 for whoever brings the most people on family and friends day. IJS,” he continued.

NewSpring Church founder Perry Noble, who revealed on his blog that he bought 10 lottery tickets in January 2016 in a bid to win a $1.3 billion jackpot, also shared his perspective on gambling.

“Is gambling bad? Yep…but sex can be as well!! Do we get rid of that too?” he asked.

“I’ve heard the heartbreaking…

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Powerful Category 3 Hurricane Willa Approaches Mexico

Powerful Category 3 Hurricane Willa Approaches Mexico



Mexico is bracing itself for impact as a category 3 hurricane, Hurricane Willa, approaches.


Willa is expected to make landfall on Tuesday and is posing serious threats of damage. 


According to ABC News, the category 3 storm has winds of about 125 mph and is currently about 120 miles south-southwest of Mazatlan.


The outlet reports that Willa will likely hit several islands off of Mexico on Tuesday morning before making landfall in Mexico Tuesday afternoon.


The storm is expected to produce a deadly storm surge of up to 18 inches between Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, areas which according to ABC News, have already seen heavy rainfall and flooding.


Willa is expected to lose its tropical circulation as it makes its way inland, but it will maintain its tropical moisture dropping heavy rains on Texas, Wednesday. Heavy rains from the storm are posing flash flood threats to Mexico, Texas and the western Florida Panhandle, which is still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Michael earlier this month. 


Some places are expected to see as much as 4 inches of rain.


ABC News warns that remnants of Willa will move along the Gulf Coast and combine with a powerful jet stream later this week. This could possibly lead to the formation of another storm in the Northeast heading into the weekend.



Photo courtesy: Pexels/Pixabay


Video courtesy: ABC News

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Christian Parents Blaming Sex Assault Victims, Defending Their Unrepentant Children: College Pastor

(Photo: Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)People participate in a protest march for survivors of sexual assault and their supporters in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. November 12, 2017.

Christian parents sometimes not only attempt to justify the sexual assault carried out by their children, but also blame the victim, a college pastor and Presbyterian minister has said.

Moses Y. Lee, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and director of campus ministry OneU DC, who is studying at Westminster Theological Seminary, shared of such experiences in an article for The Gospel Coalition on Monday:

“During my past six years serving as a college pastor, some of my most disturbing conversations have been with unrepentant sexual assault perpetrators and their defensive Christian parents. In their attempts to justify their actions, too often I would hear from the perpetrators (and their parents), ‘Have you seen her Instagram account? Do you know what she’s like at parties? But she made the first move. Well, she asked for it. She has a history.’ And so on,” Lee wrote.

“With more than 20 percent of female undergraduate students experiencing some form of sexual assault or misconduct, these tendencies to blame the victim have led some to demand action or even walk away…

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‘We have lost a modern saint’, tributes paid to Eugene Peterson

The Bishop of Liverpool Paul Bayes described Mr Peterson as a “great teacher” in a tweet.

Speaking to Premier Bishop Paul shared his reaction to the pastor’s death.

 

“In many ways it was expected I know that he was suffering the illnesses of old age,” he said.

“But it is still a shock when a man who has been so significant in the world church passes away.”

The Presbyterian pastor began receiving hospice care last week after his medical team informed his family his care would be “primarily palliative”.

Christian writer and speaker Sheridan Voysey told Premier the pastor left a lesson for Christians to learn by the way he handled his own death.

He said: “He gave us a model of dying well.

“If you read the reports from his family about his last few days of life, here we have a man who walked with God and then in his very last days he was almost joyful – he just couldn’t wait for what was about to happen next.

“We have lost a modern-day saint.”

The paraphrased Message Bible was published in segments from 1993 to 2002.

Justin Brierley presenter of the Unbelievable apologetics show on Premier said it’s hard to calculate the impact of The Message.

He explained: “It’s been used by rock-stars like Bono, it’s been used by people like my wife in ministry in her church.

“It’s always provided an immensely fascinating and fresh way of looking at scripture and he himself is a remarkable…

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Migrant Caravan Grows to 7,200, Makes Its Way Toward U.S.

Migrant Caravan Grows to 7,200, Makes Its Way Toward U.S.



Some 7,200 migrants from Guatemala and Honduras are heading to the U.S. border, according to reports.


Early in the week, about 1,500 additional migrants joined the group, staying the night in Tapachula, Mexico. They were about 1,100 miles from McAllen, Texas.


In response to the traveling group, President Donald Trump said there are “criminals and unknown Middle Easterners” among the migrants.


Reporters, however, have said there is no evidence of his claim. Still, Trump said he has alerted Border Patrol and the military.


“Every time you see a Caravan, or people illegally coming, or attempting to come, into our Country illegally, think of and blame the Democrats for not giving us the votes to change our pathetic Immigration Laws! Remember the Midterms! So unfair to those who come in legally,” Trump tweeted Monday morning.


“Sadly, it looks like Mexico’s Police and Military are unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United States,” Trump tweeted Monday. “Criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in. I…

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What’s Postconservative Evangelical? Theology Unfinished, ‘Inerrancy’ Not Dogmatic: Roger Olson

(Screenshot: YouTube/cityhilltv)Roger E. Olson, professor of Christian Theology of Ethics at George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, speaking at City Hill Church in Federal Way, WA, on October 31, 2013.

An evangelical theologian has explained the meaning of “postconservative evangelical,” noting that the task of aligning doctrine with Scripture remains unfinished and “biblical inerrancy” is not elevated to dogma-status.

“Not many theologians I know want this label slapped on them,” Roger E. Olson, professor of Christian Theology of Ethics at George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, admitted in a blog on Monday.

“Postconservative evangelical theology is evangelical theology that does not consider the constructive task of theology finished. Conservative evangelical theology is evangelical theology that considers the constructive task of theology finished. These theologians are primarily interested in the critical task of theology — discovering heresy and exposing it. They are also interested, of course, in translating older versions of ‘the received evangelical tradition’ into contemporary idiom,” he goes on to explain.

“Postconservative evangelical theology does not elevate ‘biblical inerrancy’ to the…

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New Bishop of Bristol introduced to House of Lords

The Rt Rev Vivienne Faull was flanked by supporters, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, and the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam, as she swore the oath of allegiance to the Queen.

The former Dean of York became the Diocese of Bristol’s 57th bishop in July and is the first woman in the role.

Her appointment followed the retirement of the Rt Rev Mike Hill last year.

She was also the first woman to lead a Church of England Cathedral as Provost and then Dean of Leicester in 2000.

The 63-year-old, who was brought up on the Wirral, is married to a hospital consultant.

As Bishop of Bristol, she is one of the 26 senior members of the Church of England, known as the Lords Spiritual, entitled to sit on the red benches of the unelected house. Others include the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.

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Joshua Harris Says ‘I Kissed Dating Goodbye’ Will Be Discontinued, Apologizes for ‘Flaws’

(Photo: Facebook; Amazon)Pastor Joshua Harris and his his career-making book published in 1997, ‘I Kissed Dating Goodbye.’

Pastor Joshua Harris, author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, has released a statement apologizing for his best-selling book and announcing that he will be discontinuing its publication.

“I no longer agree with its central idea that dating should be avoided,” Harris wrote in a lengthy message posted on his personal website. “I now think dating can be a healthy part of a person developing relationally and learning the qualities that matter most in a partner.”

“In light of the flaws I now see in I Kissed Dating Goodbye, I think it’s best to discontinue its publication, as well other supplemental resources tied to it (this includes the two books I wrote after it whose content is similar),” he continued. “My publisher, whose encouragement in this process has been deeply meaningful to me, supports this decision and will not reprint the books after the current copies in their inventory are sold.”

Written in 1997, when Harris was just 20 years old and had not yet been in a dating relationship, I Kissed Dating Goodbye highlights the problems with contemporary “recreational dating” and presents “biblical courtship” as an alternative. Traditional dating, he says, is “a training ground for divorce” because it puts people in the habit of quitting relationships when things get tough. In his book, Harris also urges Christian singles to commit to “purposeful singleness,” arguing that romantic relationships should exist only as a means to preparing for marriage.

The book became a staple…

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Christian and Jewish leaders reaffirm commitment

It was founded in 1942 amid the turmoil of the Second World War and has become the leading nationwide forum for Jewish-Christian engagement.

The Council says Christian/Jewish relations have grown strong and flourished in the UK during the past 75 years.

However, it recognises that global society is living through a period of increased hatred, extremism, and polarisation and that, in the UK, antisemitism and antisemitic discourse has become more noticeable in public life and within social media.

The Council members who are leaders of the Jewish and Christian communities in the UK state that antisemitism has no place in British society and call on those in positions of power and influence to listen to such concerns.

They also commit to speaking out on anti-Christian sentiment and persecution of Christians in many parts of the world today.

CCJ Chair, Bishop Michael Ipgrave said: “It has been very encouraging to see the renewed endorsement which our Christian and Jewish Presidents have given to CCJ as we complete our 75th anniversary year.

“We are grateful for their support, as we feel that our work is of ever increasing importance in our society at this time, with rising levels of antisemitism and increasing xenophobia and discrimination towards minority communities.”

CCJ Director Elizabeth Harris-Sawczenko said: “These are challenging times, nationally and globally.

“As…

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Eugene Peterson, Author of ‘The Message’ and Pastor to Other Pastors, Dies at Age 85

Eugene Peterson, Author of ‘The Message’ and Pastor to Other Pastors, Dies at Age 85



(RNS) — Eugene Peterson, the best-selling author of “The Message” and longtime pastor praised as a “shepherd’s shepherd,” passed away Monday morning (Oct. 22) at age 85.


Among Peterson’s last words were, “Let’s go,” according to a statement from his family.


“During the previous days, it was apparent that he was navigating the thin and sacred space between earth and heaven,” according to his family. “We overheard him speaking to people we can only presume were welcoming him into paradise. There may have even been a time or two when he accessed his Pentecostal roots and spoke in tongues as well.”


Peterson pastored Christ Our King Presbyterian Church, a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation he founded in Bel Air, Md., for 30 years while also writing widely to encourage and develop other pastors.


He is best known for “The Message,” his popular paraphrase of the Bible in contemporary language that made the Bible accessible to many Christians. Altogether, he wrote more than 30 books, including his 2011 memoir “The Pastor” and the Christian classic, “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.”


“Eugene Peterson has encouraged, formed, and often literally saved the ministry of more than one pastor over the years through his writing and thinking (I would include myself in that list),” wrote Truett Seminary…

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